Work on the new trail was completed Sunday in the Oz VeGaon Nature Preserve in Gush Etzion.
The last buckets of gravel were poured by Ezra Schwartz’s parents, sister and brothers, five weeks after the fatal shooting attack which killed him and Ya'akov Don.
Schwartz was on his was on his way from his Beit-Shemesh Yeshiva to volunteer at Oz VeGaon when his ride got stuck in in traffic. Schwartz, Don and a Palestinian doctor were killed after a terrorist opened fire.
Schwartz’s family arrived in Israel five weeks after his murder and requested to complete the act of volunteerism that Ezra never finished. At a ceremony in the reserve, his father said that the embrace the family is receiving gives them strength in this difficult time
Ezra's mother told how her son was loved by his friends, full of humor and loves sports. She spoke of Ezra’s first connection with the country and after the abduction of the three boys which were buried in the preserve, Ezra’s life was also taken on his way to volunteer there.
Oz VeGaon Nature Preserve was established in memory of Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Sha'er. What was once a neglected forest covered in garbage, has now become a beautiful tourist attraction were hundreds of people from all over the country come each week to volunteer in the development of the reserve.
Davidi Perl, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, said there is a strong connection between Gush Etzion, Ezra and the entire Schwartz family. "Over the years, the nation of Israel has been faced with much pain and at a heavy cost, with a good hard look we can see how the connection to Israel guarantees the connection to faith and the future."
